After a long day of lecturing, grading tests and essays and assisting students, sophomore English teacher Rebecca Savuto decides she needs a breather. Fortunately, a friend of hers has been wanting to take a pottery class, so she tags along despite having no previous experience. Soon, what started as a stress-reliever would turn into a long-term passion.
Savuto decided to enter the world of pottery as a way to balance her workload with her everyday life. Throughout her time in the studio, Savuto has learned first-hand how finding a creative outlet can be beneficial for one’s mental health.
“It’s the only thing I’ve experienced that can take me out of my stresses,” Savuto said. “I don’t think about anything other than the clay in front of me.”
Prior to her work with pottery, Savuto never considered herself to be an artist. However, she found a new talent and an appreciation for art in handling clay.
“This is really the first time that I can see myself as actually being an artist,” Savuto said. “But I think most people are, and they just maybe haven’t found an outlet to highlight their creative side.”
Savuto is having her art displayed from October until the end of January at the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center. Being selected out of many to showcase her art is particularly exciting for Savuto because this is the first time the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center has ever put students’ work on display.
“It’s for their Studio School Exhibition, which opened last weekend, and I think it runs until the end of January,” Savuto said. “It was the first time that they’ve ever had any type of art showcased like that.”
Getting the opportunity to exhibit her art wasn’t easy, though. Savuto had to jump through a couple of hoops to get selected for the showcase.
“If you are a teacher there, or if you’re a renter there, or if you take classes there, you were able to fill out an application form, and then there was a jury selection for the exhibition,” Savuto said.
